Rochelle Notice
Sadeke Brooks, Gleaner Writer
A professional model is expected to have a hectic schedule with numerous photo shoots and catwalk appearances. However, few of these models have to maintain such schedules while in the 10th grade of high school.
Rochelle Notice is the 15-year-old winner of the recently concluded Caribbean Model Search Reality TV series and a student at the Innswood High School in St. Catherine.
She won the competition unexpectedly after not thinking seriously about modelling until a month before.
"I was in Alligator Pond (Manchester) visiting my aunt and I was walking on the road when a car drove up beside me. They wine down the window and I see (CEO and directors, respectively) Kingsley (Cooper) and Romae (Gordon) who asked me if I ever did modelling before and ask me if I was interested. They ask me to come to Trafalgar Road by the Wednesday to meet with them," recounts an excited Rochelle.
Major problem
However, she had to overcome a major problem before she could meet with them. Her mother did not believe her. So, she had to call Romae and Kingsley who she asked to call her mother to explain what was taking place.
Rochelle says she expects a lengthy career in modelling. But in the event that her modelling ends, she plans to do her Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams and eventually teach mathematics at the secondary level.
As part of the perks of winning the competition, she won a contract with Pulse valued at $200,000, for which, surprisingly she does not have any plans. She has also won a trip to New York to visit various modelling agencies, as well as editorials in SHE Caribbean and Ocean Style magazines and a place in the regional competition, The Caribbean's Next Supermodel.
The regional leg of the competition will start within another week but Tonya Russell, public relations and advertising coordinator at Pulse Investments Limited, says: "To accommodate her schooling, it (the competition) will be done in the evenings and on weekends, everything will be completed in a week or two."
She is expected to leave Jamaica to go to New York by early next year and will accompanied by the other contestants who reached the top five, namely Fallon Harris, Heidi Ann Jamieson, Raquel Jones, who Rochelle thought was her biggest competitor and Saskia McIntyre. She says she will also be featured in the Flair magazine, which is a publication of the Gleaner Company.
But how will Rochelle manage school and a busy modelling schedule?
"I will finish school before I fully launch my modelling career. I am planning to repeat grade 10 so that I can finish the competition. I got to study to go to grade 11, to study more in math and English 'cause I am not so good in English," says the McCooks Pen resident, Rochelle.
She explained that she will repeat grade 10 in order to improve her performance in school, and not for modelling purposes as most people might think. This difficulty she has with the articulating the English language was highlighted in the bmobile challenge that required her to do a commercial for the phone company's Anyone World Plan. She says this was most difficult as she did not complete it satisfactorily.
Romae Gordon, however, says the policy at Pulse is to allow the girls to complete high school before they embark on an international career. It is important for them to do well and apply the discipline required to obtain a high school diploma. This helps them to be better prepared to begin work as models and the diploma lays the foundation for future educational prospects should the girls decide to pursue degrees.
Though uncertain of how well she will be accepted on the international market, she says her expectations for the regional competition are high as she believes she will be among the top contenders. She is cognisant of the criticism she is likely to face in the international arena and says she is prepared to deal with that.
Criticisms
"Some people are going to like you and some people won't. Some will say you are too fat or say you don't have the look they are looking for. I can take the criticisms, look back at my mistakes and try to correct them. You have to take it, if you can't, you betta come out," says an adamant Rochelle.
Said Gordon: "Designer samples will hang perfectly on her frame. She has good physical model qualities - long limbs, a beautiful face and at age 15 she has several years ahead of her to realise her optimum modelling potential. Her photos were the best from among the 18 finalists in the series. She is effortless when she gets in front of the camera and this is an excellent quality for a model to have. Her versatility was also evident and this augurs well for her future prospects with editorials and campaigns."
"I feel good about winning the competition. People who are your enemies or were not friendly to you before or neva talk to you at all, talk to you now. When you down, nobody neva know you but now mi up an they do [talk to me]," she says as she looked desperately for Tonya to fill the gaps in her speech due to her loss for words.
